Benjamin Ruggiero

FBI surveillance photo of Lefty Ruggiero

Benjamin Ruggiero , aka "Lefty," "Lefty Guns," "Lefty Two Guns" (born April 19, 1926 , † November 24, 1994 ) was a gangster in the New York mafia family Bonanno . He was a full member of the Mafia and held the position of a " soldato ". He was allegedly responsible for 26 murders on behalf of the "family". He became known to a large public through his friendship with the undercover agent Joseph Pistone , who called himself Donnie Brasco for camouflage.

biography

He was born in the so-called "Fourth Ward" neighborhood, an area between Brooklyn Bridge and City Hall Park, Manhattan and grew up in Little Italy , Manhattan . Ruggiero joined the team around the Bonanno Caporegime Michael Sabella as a young man . Ruggiero worked for him as a bookmaker, money collector and protection racket. He lived on Monroe Street in Manhattan in the same building as the "Soldato" of the Bonanno family Anthony Mirra . Ruggiero had a good relationship with the boss of the Philip "Rusty" Rastelli family . Ruggiero had a brother who later changed his name to "Reggero" because he didn't want anything to do with the family. Ruggiero had three daughters and a son, Thomas Sbano, who later became addicted to heroin. Two of the three daughters are said to have married mafia gangsters. The Bonanno family is said to have asked Ruggiero to kill his own son-in-law. The son-in-law Marco disappeared without a trace.

Operation Donnie Brasco

See article: “ Joseph Pistone ”

Ruggiero met a man named Donnie Brasco, who posed as an expert in jewelery. Both developed a criminal partnership and personal friendship. Donnie Brasco was undercover agent Joseph Pistone. Ruggiero brought Brasco into the Mafia family and this won the trust of his colleagues Ruggiero. Ruggiero was innocent of Brasco and almost discovered his identity. Ruggiero recognized an FBI boat in a boat that Brasco had rented for a Mafia meeting that he had seen in Time magazine . However, he believed that Brasco did not know anything about the fact that the boat owner had also rented the boat to the "Feds".

The "Three Capos Murder" "

In 1979 the Bonanno boss Carmine Galante was murdered after trying to expand his sphere of influence, which caused the resentment of the other New York families. His murder left a power vacuum in the family.

Philip Rastelli took over the family and became boss. However, he was imprisoned at the time and this aroused the desires of Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato . Overall, the family was split into two factions: those born in the USA on the one hand and the Sicilian immigrants (Zips) on the other, who rallied around Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato.

Ruggiero's superior was Capo Dominic "Sonny Black" Napolitano , a loyal follower of Rastelli. On May 5, 1981, the three rebellious capos of the Zips faction were lured into a trap and murdered. That put down the rebellion. Indelicato's son Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato had also been invited, but he stayed away from the meeting.

According to Pistone, the murderers responsible were: Napolitano, John Cersani , Joseph Massino , Salvatore Vitale , Joseph DeSimone, Nicholas Santora , Vito Rizzuto , Louis Giongetti, Santo Giordano and Gerlando Sciascia . Ruggiero and Cersani were greasy and were responsible for the body removal along with Napolitano, James Episcopia and Robert Capazzio.

Ruggiero enjoyed the life of a mafia gangster. He is said to have said to Donnie Brasco:

“Donnie, as a wiseguy you can lie, you can cheat, you can steal, you can kill people - legitimately. You can do any goddamn thing you want and nobody can say anything about it. Who wouldn't want to be a wiseguy? "

“Donnie, as a Mafioso you can lie, cheat, steal, kill people - and you are allowed to do so. You can damn anything and nobody can do anything to you. Who wouldn't want to be a mafioso? "

- Benjamin Ruggiero

Ruggiero was the epitome of a Mafioso and enjoyed the respect of the other Mafia gangsters. He had a good reputation as a killer, although he was not violent in everyday life. He had never been sentenced to prison, although he had been arrested on numerous occasions. He got his nickname "Lefty" because he threw the dice with his left hand when playing dice. And he got the nickname “Two guns” because he liked to carry two guns with him on murder assignments. In the 1970s, Lefty developed the problem of gambling addiction. He gambled away a lot of money in horse racing. In 1977 he owed Marangello $ 160,000. The Bonanno family asked Ruggiero to pay off the debt. Otherwise he could not be made a full member of the Mafia (so-called Made Man). After paying he was accepted as a full member.

Judgment and death

In 1981 the FBI decided to end the Pistones undercover operation because it feared for his life. FBI agents hid Pistone and told gangsters Ruggiero and Napolitano his true identity. When the Bonanno family found out about this, the men who brought Brasco to the organization were visited immediately. Mirra and Napolitano were murdered, and Ruggiero was also found guilty. He was ordered to come to a meeting at Marangello's social club. On August 30, 1981, the FBI took Ruggiero into protective custody when he was about to go to the meeting. The FBI tried to get Ruggiero to testify against the gang, but he refused. The mafia is said to have given him a “pass” - a pardon. Ruggiero was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for numerous offenses (murder, drug trafficking, racketeering, planning a bank robbery and illegal gambling). In April 1993 he was released early after 11 years in prison because he was seriously ill with testicular and lung cancer. He died of lung cancer on October 24, 1994.

Representation in art

Ruggiero was played by Al Pacino in the feature film Donnie Brasco .

literature

• Pistone, Joseph D .; & Woodley, Richard (1999) Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia , p. 402, Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-66637-4 .
• Pistone, Joseph D .; & Brandt, Charles (2007). Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business , Running Press. ISBN 0-7624-2707-8 .
• Crittle, Simon, The Last Godfather: The Rise and Fall of Joey Massino Berkley (March 7, 2006) ISBN 0-425-20939-3
• DeStefano, Anthony. The Last Godfather: Joey Massino & the Fall of the Bonanno Crime Family . California: Citadel, 2006.
• Raab, Selwyn. The Five Families: The Rise, Decline & Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empire . New York: St. Martins Press, 2005.

Web links

• UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. BENJAMIN RUGGIERO
• Justia.com UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. BENJAMIN RUGGIERO
• Time Magazine: Strife And Death in the Family by DAVID BRAND

Individual evidence

1. ^ Mike Dickson: Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero - A True Account of Al Pacino's "Lefty" in Donnie Brasco. In: American Mafia History. June 29, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2018 (American English).